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Next ISS Crew Incompatible

Posted by michael on from the fun-and-games-until-someone-gets-pushed-out-the-airlock dept.

RobertB-DC writes "The International Space Station's replacement crew is being pulled for the B-Team. While the Reuters story quotes officials talking about "certain considerations", a Moscow Times article lays it on the line: '"Incompatible" ISS Crew Ditched' due to 'a psychological incompatibility.' The Russian-American team had already been shaken up once, when the original American member dropped out due to illness. Now, they're being replaced with a whole new pair."

2 of 32 comments (clear)

  1. Two-Person Crews are a Problem by kalidasa · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The dynamics of a two-person crew are harder to manage than those of the three-person crew. If the two have a bad argument, there's no third party to mediate, and you end up with each one calling Earth looking for someone to back him up. In the end, both end up feeling isolated. With a three-person crew, there's someone to mediate and serve as a safety valve - even if two of the crew members aren't speaking to each other, there's a third person there they can talk to.

    1. Re:Two-Person Crews are a Problem by eraserewind · · Score: 5, Insightful
      The dynamics of a two-person crew are harder to manage than those of the three-person crew.


      I have no idea whether you are correct or not (but I'm going to comment anyway).

      Anyway, I just thought it was odd that you state a 3 person team has easier to manage dynamics than a 2 person team. In any courses on team building that I have done the instructors have always said that 3 is the absolute worst number to have because in a dispute there is a likelyhood that one person will always feel that they are being picked on or being ganged up on just because that's the way the numbers divide up when you have 3 people. If it happens more than once then the individual can feel very isolated very quickly and you can have a potentially explosive situation.

      At least with only 2 people there is no chance of one person feeling that "everyone" is out to get them, and they are more likely to somply feel that the other one is just being a jerk.

      Or so they said. ;-)